Sawdust-burning and air-blast apparatus



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

T. T. SCOTT 8v J. J. SHEATOR. sAWDUsT BURNING ANDAIR BLAST APPARATUS.

No. 477,387. PatentedJuneZL 1892.

No Model.)

(No Model.)

' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

T. T. SCOTT 8.-. J. J. SHEAFOR. sAWDUsT BURNING AND AIN BLAST APPARATUS.

Patented June 21', 1892.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEETCE.

THOMAS T. SCOTT AND JACOB J. SHEAFOR, OF MOTT, CALIFORNIA.

SAWDUST-BURNING AND AIR-BLAST APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 477,387, dated June 21,1892; Application tiled February 19, 1892. Serial No. 422,133. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Beit known that we, THOMAS T. SCOTT and JACOB J. SHEAFOR, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Mott, Siskiyou county, State ofCalifornia, have invented an Improvement in Sawdust-Burning andAir-Blast Apparatus; and we hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the same.

Our invention relates to an apparatus for feeding sawdust, shavings, andother offal of wood-working machinery to furnaces where it can bedisposed of, and a means for supplying an air-blast to said furnace;means for regulating the blast and distributing it, and also forsupplying it to steam-boilers, reduction, smelting, and other furnaces.

It is an improvement on our former patent, No. 460,729, dated October 6,1891; and it consists in certain details of construction which will bemore fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure l is a side elevation showing one end of the fan-case.Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the opposite end and crankshaftdriver. Fig. 3 is a Vertical section through the apparatus. Fig. 4 is atop view.

For the purpose of disposing of the large quantities of shavings andsawdust which are produced in wood-working mills it is necessary toemploy a furnace wherein it can be burned in large quantities, as thesupply is greater than can be profitably used to generate steam in theboiler-furnaces. For this purpose we construct a furnace of any suitableshape and dimensions, and the material is delivered to this furnace bymeans of an inclined chute A, the ioor of which we have shown in thepresent case as corrugated or divided into diverging channels and convexin 'transverse section, so that the material which is supplied at theupper end of the chute willbe carried by gravitation down the incline,and at the same time spread to any desired width, preferably a widthabout equal to the length of the furnace. In order to properlydistribute this material within the furnace, which may be ofconsiderable width, and to supply air for its combustion, we have showna blast-fan B, revolving within the case C, the shaft having a pulley Dupon the outer end adapted to receive a belt through which power isconveyed to rotate the fan. From the front of the fan-case a wind-box Eprojects, having a neck through which air is delivered into the furnacejust below the discharge end of the inclined chute. This neck may havean open slot or perforations, as desired, and within it, at a point justbehind the discharge-opening, the direction-boards F F are mounted, onenear the top of the box and the other near the bottom. These boards havetheir rear ends journaled, and their front ends are movable up and downand independently of each other. Upon the end of the journal-shafts,which project out through the sides of the case, are xed arms or leverswith suitable holding-racks bywhich the position of the boards may beregulated from time to time, as may be needed. The object of this deviceis to throw the material to be burned` either to the rear orto `thefront of the furnace, whereverthe most intense combustion is going on.By raising the upper board to lie parallel with the top ofthe wind-boxand raising the point of the lower board so that the blast of air willbe thrown upward, the tendency will be to lift the sawdust or materialwhich is delivered from the end of the chute and throw it to the rear ofthe furnace.

If it be found that the combustion is more rapid and intense at thefront of the furnace after a time, the front of the lower board isdepressed to lie on the bottom of the box and the edge of the upperboard is correspondingly depressed so as to to throw the blast of airdownward, and this allows the material to fall nearer to the front ofthefurnace. By this construction we are enabled to 'regulate at alltimes the discharge, so far as its falling to the front or rear isconcerned.

In order to make a perfect lateral distribution, we have shown a seriesof verticallyplaced direction-boards I, having shafts journaled in thetop and bottom of the wind-box, and arms J projecting from the rear endsof the boards for the 'attachment of a connecting-rod K, which extendsthrough the side of the case and is united with a crank-shaft L, bywhich the rod is reciprocated. The reciprocation of this rod turns theseboards alternately to one side and the other, and as a IOO blast of airis constantly passing between them it will be seen that it will bediverted from .side to side, and the material which is falling over thefront and discharge of the wind-box will be correspondingly spread fromsideto side, independent of the direction from front to rear, which isgiven to it by the windboards F F', previously described.

In order to operate the crank-shaft, we have shown a pulley M upon theend of the fanshaft and a pulley N upon the crank-shaft standing atright angles with the pulley upon the fan-shaft. A belt O passes aroundthese two pulleys and around intermediate direction-pulleys P, whichenable it to change its direction, as necessary,between these twopulleys, and power is thus derived to oscillate the direction-boards I.If the combustion is more intense at one side and it is desired todeliver the material continuously to that side, the belt is thrown oftthe pulleys and the crank-shaft turned by hand until the boards stand atthe desired angle.

From the lower part of the Wind-box in the rear of the verticaldirection-boardsI an opening is made,and from it-a series' ofwind-trunks Q extend downward and forward beneath the wind-box E,previously described. Above this opening in the bottom of the wind-boxis hinged a direction-board R, with means for raising or lowering itsfront end, and this board may be moved so as to divert any desiredproportion of the air which would normally pass through the wind-box anddirect it into the trunks below the wind-box. This is materiallyassisted by the lips Q', which project inwardly from the front edges ofthe windstrunks Q, as shown. One or more of these trunks has a nozzleextending forward and connecting with a horizontal distributing-pipe S,just within or in rear of the Wall of the furnace and havingperforations or nozzles through which air is delivered to the lower partof the furnace to assist in the combustion of the material fed thereto,while the exterior pipes connect in the same manner with perforatedpipes S at the sides of the furnace. A portion of the wind from thesepipes is delivered into branch pipes T, leading to lthe boiler-furnacesor otherpoints where a wind-blast may be desirable, and each of thepipes is provided with a valve U, by which the amount of air deliveredthrough it may be regulated to suit the requirements of the diiferentfurnaces.

The wind-boxes E and trunks Q are made of any desired length to allowthe blast apparatus to be placed in convenient relation with the drivingmachinery and the discharge-passages in proper relation to the furnaces.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. In an air-blast and sawdust-burning apparatus, the inclined deliveryand distributing chute, in combination with an air-blast apparatus, awind-box and neck through which the air is delivered fromthe blastapparatus to the furnace, in combination with the horizontally-ad justable directing-boards F F', fitted in the mouth of the discharge,substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

2. In a sawdust-burning and air-blast apparatus, the inclined divergingchanneled chute through which the material is delivered to the furnace,an air-blast apparatus and a wind-box through which the air is led fromthe apparatus to a point beneath the discharge end of the chute,direction-boards F F', having their rear ends hinged, respectively, atthe top and bottom of the mouth of the air-discharge, and lever-armsvand holding-racks, whereby the outer edges of the direction-boards maybe raised or depressed, so as to change the direction of the air-blast,substantially as herein described.

3. In a sawdust-burning and air blast apparatus, the inclined chutethrough which the material is delivered to the furnace, an air-blastapparatus, a wind-box through which the air is delivered from theair-blast apparatus to the furnace beneath the discharge end of thechute, horizontal and verticallyjournaled direction-boards situatedwithin the wind-box,through which the air is delivered, in combinationwith supplemental wind passages or trunks Q, having the curved lips Q',projecting into the Wind-box, and the vertically-adjustable swingingdirection-boards R, whereby a` portion of the air is diverted from thewind-box into the supplemental trunk beneath, substantially as hereindescribed.

4. In a sawdust-burning and air-blast apparatus, the inclineddelivery-chute through which material is discharged into the furnace, anair-blast apparatus with a wind-box and discharge-neck delivering intothe furnace below the feed-chute, vertical and horizontaldirection-boards whereby the current of air is delivered so as todischarge the material into any portion of the furnace, in combinationwith supplemental wind-trunks opening from the bottom of the mainWindbox, perforated pipes extending around the front and sides of thefurnace, through which air is delivered thereto, supplemental pipesextending from the wind-trunk connectingpipes, and valves whereby thedirection of the current may be wholly or partially changed within saidpipes, substantially as'herein described.

5. In a sawdust-burning and air-blast apparatus, the inclineddelivery-chute discharging into the furnace, a horizontal rotary fanjournaled within a fan-case beneath and behind the chute, having awind-box and discharge-neck through which the air is conveyed anddelivered into the furnace beneath the mouth of the dischargechute,direction-boards I, having vertically journaled shafts about IOO IIO

which theyturn, connecting-rods uniting with oi and the movement of thedirection-boards the rear ends of the direction-boards, extendstopped,substantially as herein described. ing through the sides of thewind-box, a In witness whereof we have hereunto set crank-shaft withwhich said rods connect and our hands.

5 through which an oscillating motion is given THOMAS T. SCOTT. thedirecmon-boards from side to side the pul- Y 1 ley M upon the fan-shaftat right angles with JACOB J SHBAFOR' the pulley N of the crank-shaft, abelt pass- Vitnesses: ing around said pulleys, and the direction- W'. M.LEE,

ro pulleys P, whereby said belt may be thrown W. G. FIELD.

